Golf tee



y 23, 1929 w. J. BARNES 1,715,026 i I GOLF TEE Filed March 51.. 1928 nvwntoz Patented May 28,

UNITED-STATES PATENT omen:

I WILLIAM J'AMESBABNES, OF JERSEY CITY, NEW JERSEY.

' GOLF TEE.

lApplieation filed March 31, 1928. Serial No. 266,162.

support a golf ball and which will offer asubstantial resistance to 'withdrawal from '15 the ground if struck by a golf. club and which may be easily withdrawn from the ground by the player after the ball has been drivenfromthetee. I

A further object of the invention is to provide a reusable golf tee-of such form that if it be struck with the face of a Wooden club it will not cause injury to the club.

Another object is to provide a golf tee of telescopical form wherebya large number of tees may be telescopedone within the other to facilitate "the carrying of the same in a compact arrangement.

' A further object is so to color the tee as to make it readily distin 'uishable from the driving tee 01" area and from the fairway'so that it may be readily located if displaced from the driving position by the player in making a drive. I

A still fiirther object of the invention is to provide a reusable golf tee of such form that it affords a relatively large, visible, surface area readily adapted to be used as advertising space. 1

. The teeembodying the present invention is formed from a blank of sheet material, preferably of metal, such as, for example, aluminum, zinc, tin or iron, which blank may be formed into the tee by one operation of a punch press. The tee comprises a head or ball-su portin section conforming to the surface of a gel ball andformedintegral with a shank or body portion which is adapted to be inserted in the ground by the player. The body portion may assume any and recovered desirable cross-sectional form but I prefer predetermined amounts I provide a plurality of flaps or tongues associated with the body portion whiclnmay be depressed to-project from the surface of the body portion. For a better understanding of the invention, reference may be had to the following description and the accompanying drawings, in which .1 a

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing the tee inserted in the ground and supporting a golf ball;

ig. 3 is a front elevation of the tee viewed in the direction of the flight of the golf ball and showing the height-adjusting flaps or tongues lying flush with thebody portion of the tee; I I

Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional View of the .tee taken along the line 44 of Fig. 3 and showing one of the flaps or tongues profjecting outwardly from the body'portion o the I tee, and

Fig. 5 is a plan view of the blank ofsheet' material from which the tee is made, showing the flaps or tongues cut in the body portion of the tee. a y

In the drawing, the numeral 1 indicates the shank or body portion of a golf tee embodying the'p-resentinvention and the nu-' meral 2 indicates the head or ball-supporting portion upon which a golf ball 3.is adapted to be placedand held in position as illustrated. The tee may be made of any suitable metallic or non-metallic sheet material, although I prefer to make it of aluminum wh? :b has been previously made into a blank 4 having substantially the form shown in Fig. 5. The body portion of the tee is formed by bending'the material of the blank 4 into a non-h'omaloidal' form, preferably cylindrical as illustrated more clearly in Fig.

4. It will be appreciated, of course,. that the body portion of the tee may assume any one of a large variety of shapes, but I have I found it desirable to'make it of such shape, I

order-that a large numberof the tees may I be telescoped one within the other to fac1l1-- tate the carrying of the same in a compact arrangement.

As shown in the drawing the open side of the teefaces in the direction of the line jacent'the side of the ball which is struck,

cylindrical there is no danger of injury to the face of the golf club should it strike the tee when the player makes a drive.

The head or ball supporting portion 2 of the tee is formed from the material of the blank 4; by bending the end 5 of'the blank over to lie in alignment with the area de fined by the body portion 1 and to form a concave upward surface conforming to the exterior of a golf ball as shown in the drawing. The end 5 of the blank is preferably rounded as shown in Fig. 5 so that when it is bent over to form the head 2 of the fee, the head so formed 'will be substantially spherical thus providing uniform contactwith the golf ball throughout the area of the tee head. As, it'may be observed from the drawing, the head 2 of the tee is made integral with substantially the entire upper periphery of the body portion 1 so that a strong, durable-tee is formed which may be i inserted into or withdrawn from the ground by the application of pressure on the upper or lower surfaces respectively, of the head. To facilitate the bending of the blank 4 to form the ball-supporting portion, I prefer to cut away the material of the blank adjacent the end 5 as indicated at 6 in Fig. 5.

From the above description, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the tee may be completely formed from the material of the blank by a single operation of a punch press thus rendering possible the production of a largenumber of the tees at a small cost.

-The tee may be conveniently inserted in the ground by placing the golf ball 3 in Contact with the head 2 of thetee and inserting the index finger between the edges of the shank 1 and against the under side of the head 2 and applying suflicient pressure by means of the thumb on the top of the golf ball. To provide suificient surface to support the ball and to furnish a suit- .able bearing surface for the index finger, the

edges of the shank l are positioned a substantial distance apart and the head 2 extends slightly beyond the area defined by j the shank.

' The head also forms a convenlent means for withdrawing the tee from the ground by inserting the index finger under the head and applying an-upward pull. Because'of the cylindrical form ofthe shank land the fact that it ismade of sheet material the tee may be readily inserted in the ground, but because ofits relatively large lateral extension,-,it oflers considerable re- I sistance' to withdrawal when struck by a golf club and would ordinarily be displaced but a short distance from its driving position if so struck by a club. The lower end of the tee may be, and preferably is, made convergent as indicated at 7 to facilitate the insertion of the tee in theground.

After a player has determined at which height above the ground he prefer-es to tee the ball, it is desirable that the tee be provided with means which 'will enable him to tee the ball at this height conveniently and rapidly. To accomplish this result I provide the shank or body portion 1 of the tee with a series of flaps. or tongues 8 formed integral with the tee at various heights as shown. Although only two tongues are illustrated in the drawing it is obvious that which the ball may be teed. These tongues are preferably formed by cutting upright,

substantially U-shaped slits in the blank 4 or they may be cut when the tee is being formed from the blank.' I have found it more convenient to permit the tongues 8 to remain flush with the surface of the shank 1 until the player has determined which one should be used to limit the insertion of the tee in the ground to the desired distance. The player may thereafter, in inserting a tee in the ground, depress the desired tongue so-that it projects substantially perpendicular to the surface of the shank-1 on either side thereof, although preferably interiorly of the shank, and push the 'tee into the ground until the depressed tongue contacts with the surface of the ground. After the drive has been made and the tee withdrawn from the ground, the tongue may be bent .back to lie flush with the surface of the shank or body portion. 1 so that the several tees carried by the player may be telesco'ped one within the other for convenience in carrying them in a compact arrangement.

It sometimes happens that a player in making a drive strikes the tee with the head .of his club with such force that the tee is overcome this difficulty I make the tee of a color readily distinguishable-from the drivlng tee or area and from the fairway. The

particular color employed will of course be determined finally by the color of'the driving tees and fairways in the terrain in which it is to be used but. I have found that orange colored tees are sufiiciently discernible in most instancesv to assist the player in locating the tee'when it has been driven from its driving position. The color may be applied to the tee by a coating of enamel or paint or it may be applied in any other suitable way.

' teeaflords a convenient space for advertisingmatter which may be stamped into the mate- The relatively large surface area of the rial of the tee when it is being formed or which may be printed or otherwise associated with the tee at a later time.

Having thus described this form of my invention, I wish it to be understood that various changes may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention.

What I claim and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

1. A tee for supporting a golf ball comprising, a body portion adapted to be inserted in the ground, a ball-supporting portion connected therewith and means for limiting the depth of insertion of said body portion, said means normally lying flush with the surface of said body portion but adapted to be depressed therefrom.

2. A tee for supporting a golf ball comprising, a body portion adapted to be inserted in the ground, a ball-supporting portion connected therewith and a plurality of positive means associated with said body portion at various heights for limiting the insertion of the same to one of several selectable depths,

said means normally lying flush with the surface .of said body portion but adapted to be depressed therefrom.

3. A tee for supporting 'a golf ball comprising, a body portion adapted to be inserted in the ground, a ball-supporting portion connected therewith and .a plurality of tongues or ilapsdormed integral with said body portion at various heights and adapted to be depressed so as to project therefrom to limit the depth of insertion of said body portion to one of several selectable depths. I 4. A tee for supporting a' golf ball comprising, a.body-portion of non-homaloidalv sheet material adapted to be inserted in the ground, a ball-supporting portion connected therewith and' a plurality of positive means associated with said-body portion at various heights for limiting the insertion of the same to one of several selectable depths,

said means normally lying flush with the surface of said body portion but adapted to be depressed therefrom. I

5. A tee for supporting a golf ball comprising, a cylindricalvbody portion of sheet material adapted to be inserted in the ground, a ball-supporting portion connected therewith and av plurality of positive means associated with said body portion at various heights for limiting the insertion of the same to one of several selectable depths, said means normally lying flush with the surface of said body portion but adapted to be depressed therefrom.

BIA tee for supporting a golf ball comprising, a body portion of non-homal'oidal sheet material whose edges area substantial distance apart, said body portion being adapted to be inserted in the ground, a ball-- supporting portion in alignment with the area defined by said body portion and formed integral therewith throughout its upper periphery and means for limiting the depth of insertion of said body portion, said means normally lying flush with the surface of said body portion but adapted to be depressed therefrom.

7. A tee for supporting a golf ball comprising, a body portion of non-homaloidalsheet material whose edges are a substantial distance apart, said body portion being adapted to be inserted in the ground, a ballsupporting portion in alignment with the area defined by said body portion and formed integral therewith throughout its upper pe riphery and a plurality of positive means associated with said body portion at various heights for limiting the insertion of the same to one of several selectable depths, said means normally lying flush with the. surface of said body portion but adapted to be depressed therefrom.

8. A tee for supporting a golf ball comprising, a body portion of non-homaloidal sheet material whose edges are a substantial distance apart, said body portion being adapted to be inserted in the ground, a ballsupporting portion in alignment with the area defined by said body portion and formed integral therewith throughout its upper periphery and la plurality of tongues or flaps formed integral with .said body pordepressed. so as to project therefrom to limit the depth of insertion of said body portion to one of several selectable depths.

9. A tee for supporting a golfball comprising, a body portion of non-homaloidal sheet material whose edges are a substantial distance apart, said body portion being adapted to be inserted in the ground, a ballsupporting portion in alignment with the area defined by said body portion and formed integral therewith throughout its loidal body portion whose edges are a sub-- 'stantial distance apart, an upwardly concave portion conforming to the surface of the ball and in alignment with the area defined by said body portion and formed from the entire upper periphery of the body portion and a plurality of tongues formed in the side of .tion at various heights and adapted to be lltl said bod portion and adapted to be depressed tiierefrom. Y Y

11. A golf ball tee of acolor readily dis cernible in the terrain in which it is to be 5 used and formed from a blank of sheet mm v terial and comprising, a non-hoinaloidal body portion Whose edges are a substantial distance apart, an upwardly concave portion conforn ling to the surface of the ball and in al ignm entfwith the area defined by said 0 body portion and formed from the entire upper periphery of: the body portion and a plurality of tongues formed at various heights in the side of said body portion and adapted to be depressed therefrom, the lower end of said body portion being convergent.

WILLIAM JAMES BARNES. 

